This group is for all the Hot Mama's who are taking a step towards a healthier lifestyle with the Weight Watchers program!
Weight Watchers is not a diet, it's a LIFESTYLE! By teaching the 8 GHG (Good Health Guidelines) and portion control, Weight Watchers has helped thousands of people reach their goals!
So if you're just starting your journey, have been on WW for a while, or are a lifetime member working to maintain, please join us for tips, advice, and good company!

1. No selling or promoting of any item you may or may not be associated with, WW or not, doesn't matter.

2. No 'vote for my baby' or any other 'vote for' post are allowed. We all have the cutest LO's in the world, but don't have time to vote for all of them since we are too busy meal planing and counting points.

3. Be positive to other members and respectful, we are all here for the same reason, lets lift each other up!!!

4. Please do not ask us to calculate your points or ask us to calculate food points (unless you're asking opinions or serving sizes).

Here are some other helpful tips and information collected by members from this board...

redfraggle37
Welcome to the WW board!!! We are a great group of ladies who work VERY hard. There are few questions that seem to pop up every other day or so. This is compiled from a previous thread and added to. Please only ADD advice here, do not have conversations. If you want to have a conversation then start a new thread and put SO of this one in the title (spin off = SO).

Also, a lot of us have been here a long long time. We want to help you have as much success as us! To do that, sometimes we have to be really honest and honesty sometimes feel harsh or judgmental. Please know that we only want you to succeed!

I just had my week 2 weigh in and I gained. WUWT???"

Don't get stressed in week two, it is a killer and often times shows little to no results. Its quite common and the best you can do is move on to week three!

"I just started working out and I have eaten within my points and now I gained a pound. I am so frustrated!!!!"

Its very common to gain or see small results when beginning a new or changing an existing workout regimen. Your body is adjusting, keep doing what you are doing and you will see results next week. But DON"T skimp on your points.

You noticed you gained, but you know you've done every thing right and you have NOT started a new work out routine in the last few weeks.

You can probably thank AF for this. Pay attention to what you weigh around the time of your period and you may find you gain right before she gets here (or even right after).

Activity/Exercise

If you are really serious about adding activity, get a HRM (heart rate monitor). The online calculator is not accurate and you need to know how much you burned so you know how much to eat...that being said...

if you are earning 4 or more AP in a day, eat 1 of them! Or your body will starve itself and hold out on loss. You NEED to eat those points if you really are earning them, which is why you need a HRM.

Low point food:

only eating 0pt food or low point food will backfire on you. Remember, life style change...and there is NO way you live on that forever.

Points/Planning

Eat all your points! Especially in the beginning-- try starting out eating all your weekly points--you might be surprised that you still lose. Then, when you reach a plateau, you'll know where you can start to cut back. If you're having trouble getting them all in, eat some PB, nuts, regular cheese, extra glass of milk, whatever.

The easiest way to be successful is to PLAN AHEAD! Plan at least your dinners once a week before you go shopping-- you'll save money and time, and then you won't end up getting pizza on Tuesday since there was nothing to eat.

General Advice

Don't get discouraged after your first day or week. IT WILL GET EASIER. You'll get use to counting points and start to memorize what somethings point value is.

Try to eat power foods so you stay fuller longer.

Don't compare your loss/results with others. You are an individual and your weight loss journey will be unique too.

Find a way to fit in your favorite foods/restaurants/recipes. Too much of a change can cause you to reject or despise the program.

aktyler
Two things that have always been helpful for me:
1. Putting points value per serving on my food packages in the pantry and refrigerator
2. Breaking things into serving size portions and putting them in baggies with points written on the baggies.

Andrea's mom 03
1. Drink water.
2. Find a way to make the things you love healthier.
3. Go for a walk. My favorite pedometer is the Omron HJ 112.
4. Don't give up if you have a bad day or a gain, just put it behind you ad start again.
5. Try to follow the good health guidelines.

One pound at a time, one step at a time, we can do this.

jeslync

Do not deny yourself little pleasures, simply add it into your points. This is not about depriving ourselves of wonderful food, it's about portion control and smart decisions. The beauty of weight watchers is that if you really want that slice of pizza you can EAT it! Just add it to your points tracker!

It is better to give into our indulges everyday or so, than to binge and eat it all at once.

gigglesNsmiles

Make Power Foods your go to foods. They are nutritious, and they will keep you full for MUCH longer than the same point value of non-filling foods.

This is especially important if you get hungry easily (like me!) Feeling full on healthy foods is very nice and helps prevent junk food binges.

Explore recipes using Power Foods, especially if you are not used to eating them, or cooking them.

meghan_richey

Remember that WW is about more than just points. Focus on health too, by making sure you meet the Good Health Guidelines each day. Here's a copy of the GHG, stolen from here on the WW site. :)

The Good Health Guidelines guide you toward healthy choices as you lose weight. These guidelines ensure you are getting the nutrients, vitamins and minerals you need to boost your health while losing weight. Check off your â€œHealthy Checksâ€ as you meet them each day in the POINTS Tracker.
Good Health Guidelines
1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day.
2. Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
3. Include two servings of milk products â€“ low fat (1%) or fat-free â€“ each day.
4. Have 2 teaspoons of healthy oils (olive oil, canola, sunflower, safflower or flaxseed) each day.
5. Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of lean meats, skinless poultry, fish, beans, soy products, and lentils.
6. Limit added sugar and alcohol.
7. Drink at least 6 8-ounce glasses of liquid a day. The best choice is water.
8. Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement each day.
9. Get in at least 30 minutes a day on most days of the week.(Start with 10 minutes if youâ€™re sedentary now).

What's a serving size?

1. Fruits, vegetables and leafy greens
Serving sizes are 1 cup for leafy greens and 1/2 cup for all other vegetables and fruits. The lettuce alone in a large salad may well count for 2 or more vegetable servings. The default portion for most fruits and vegetables is 1 cup.
2. Packaged whole grains
Use the nutrition label to determine the serving size of packaged whole grain foods.
3. Milk and dairy
If you are more than 50 years old or are a teenager or a nursing mom, increase milk servings to three each day. Examples of one milk serving include 1 cup of milk or yogurt or 1 1/2 ounces of many cheeses.
4. Healthy oils
Having 2 teaspoons of healthy oil each day ensures that you get the vitamin E and essential fatty acids that your body needs. Use the oil on salads, in cooking or as an ingredient in a mixed dish. Two teaspoons of oil is not even 1 tablespoon, so be careful to measure, since each additional teaspoon counts as another POINTSÂ® value of
5. Lean meat and fish
A serving of lean meat or fish is generally 3 to 4 ounces, about the size of a deck of cards.
6. Water Six 8-ounce glasses of water is just 3 standard 16-ounce bottles.

meghan_richey
"I'm breastfeeding and just took the points quiz, but the number looks too high. Should I really add 10 pts for EBFing? I'm afraid I won't lose based on those points."

The points quiz is correct and you will still lose at the recommended rate (about 1 lb per wk) when you eat them all. You will absolutely need all those points (and the food the represent, naturally) to fuel adequate production of breastmilk for you LO, and to keep you from getting famished! Nursing can make you really hungry and really thirsty too! Most docs will tell you breastfeeding taxes the body by an additional 500 calories per day, which jives perfectly with WW''s designation of 10 additional points for exclusively breastfeeding. (1 pt generally equals about 50 calories). WW's official position is that if you are supplementing with formula (or later with solids), that you need 5 additional points instead of 10. But most moms adjust this number based on the percentage that they are BFing vs giving a bottle/solids. For example, if you're only giving one bottle per day, then obviously your body is doing more than half the work to feed your child and needs more than half the points that WW thinks you do. One of the older versions of WW assigned points based on how many times per day you were BFing, with each feeding session earning 2 pts, for a maximum total of 10 per day. You could easily follow this method too and have good weight loss results.

You can join WW at 6 wks postpartum. The points quiz is your minimum number of daily points and you shouldn't dip below that number. When nursing, WW adjusts the Good Health Guidelines too. You'll need to increase your milk servings to three and bump up your fruit and vegetable servings to eight. You should also increase your servings of lean proteins and healthy oils to three each, and make sure to have eight glasses of water per day.

Here's two more articles from WW that may answer any additional questions you have.

www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/ind...

www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/ind...

Jolinar
Simply Filling Technique (old Core)

You eat the foods on the Filling Foods list until you're satisfied (but not full or stuffed). You can eat things that are not on the FF list, and those you do count points for - you still get 35 weekly points and you can earn activity points. I got so sick of measuring and counting everything.

Filling Foods List

The rules are:

Eat the foods on this list to satisfaction (or not hungry, but not full or stuffed). This is the hardest part.

There is no limit on how much you can eat, with a few exceptions:
- you can only have whole wheat pasta OR potatoes (regular or sweet) OR brown rice ONCE per day "free" but you can have them again later in the day if you count the points for subsequent servings
- cold cereal (and the list is limited - it can't have any added sugar, dried fruit, or nuts) must be eaten with milk or plain fat free yogurt, and it can only be eaten once per day "free" (count points if you have more later)
- ground meats can only be eaten once per day "free" and they must be at least 93% lean (count points if you have more later)
- you still need to get in your Good Health Guidelines each day:
5 servings of fruits & veggies
2 servings of milk products (minimum)
6 glasses of "liquids"
2 tsp healthy oils (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, flaxseed)
1-2 servings of lean protein (minimum)
1 multivitamin a day
Choose Whole Grains when possible
At least 30 minutes of activity a day most days of the week
Limit sugar and alcohol

It takes a little bit of reading to understand it, but once you figure it out, it's really, really easy.

More info on Core/SFT rules:

Whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes and grains
*Bread is not a Filling Food
*Whole-wheat pasta, potatoes, or brown rice are limited to one meal a day (count points for subsequent servings if you have more than one serving per day)

Vegetables and fruits
*Vegetables cannot contain ingredients that are not Filling Foods (for example, pork and beans and French fries are not Filling Foods)
*Vegetable juices and fruit juices are not Filling Foods
*Canned fruit must be packed in water or juice, and drained
*Dried fruits are not Filling Foods

Whole-grain cereals â€” without added sugar,nuts or dried fruit
*Cold cereal is limited to one meal a day and must be eaten with fat-free milk or fat-free plain yogurt

Lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs, beans and meat substitutes such as tofu
*Processed meats such as deli items or hot dogs are not Filling Foods
*Ground beef with no more than 7% fat, or ground turkey or chicken, are limited to one meal per day

Fat-free milk and milk products
*Includes calcium-fortified soy milk
*Weight WatchersÂ® Smoothies* are limited to one a day
-Available at participating meeting locations only

Healthy oils
Include 2 tsp each day without counting POINTSÂ® values. Use your weekly POINTS Allowance for any additional oil.

*Olive oil
*Canola oil
*Safflower oil
*Sunflower oil
*Flaxseed oil

meghan_richey

A few ideas to make home baked goods a bit healthier:

Add fiber - Replace a portion of the white flour with whole wheat flour (usually up to half can be done without much notice, though you can do more). Replace a portion of the white flour with other products, such as quick cooking oats, oat bran, wheat bran, or other whole-grain grain flours (spelt, buckwheat, etc)

Reduce fat - Replace a portion of the oil or melted butter with unsweetened applesauce or other unsweetened puree, such as banana or pumpkin

Reduce calories - Reduce the amount of sugar. This can be a bit tricky though, because aside from sweetness, granulated sugars also add structure/crispness to baked goods. Some people use sugar substitutes, such as Splenda For Baking.

Reduce calories - Swap chopped fresh fruit (tossed in a bit of cornstarch) for dried fruit. Reduce amount of chocolate chips, or use a smaller amount of the mini chips so they distribute more thoroughly, but with less overall chocolate.

Add nutrients - Add shredded or pureed fruits/vegs. You'd be surprised how ,many things can hide the addition of some shredded zucchini or shredded apple.